Monthly Archives: April 2017

Several weeks ago, I was returning home from a trip with my business partner, Craig. We were sitting in the gate area at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when I noticed an employee from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) K9 Unit approaching the area with a canine (his partner).

The handler allowed the dog to walk around all the seats and benches sniffing people and their luggage. When the dog approached my area, I asked the handler if the dog was trained for drugs or explosives and the handler indicated he was an explosive sniffing dog.

Seconds later, not even two feet away from me, the dog became focused on the contents of a bag with a shoe box and he pushed it out to where his handler was. As I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together, another TSA officer quickly approached me and indicated that the woman sitting above the bag was with the TSA and they were conducting a training exercise.

Looking back on the situation, I realized that the bag and shoe box sitting underneath the benches never caught my attention, and I never really gave the area a second thought. Had this not been a training exercise, I would have been sitting two feet away from an explosive device!

This experience got me thinking about The Department of Homeland Security’s Program, “If You See Something, Say Something”. The program promotes saying something if you suspect suspicious activity, no matter how minor or irrelevant it may seem, so that everyone can work together to keep the community safe. Whether it be terrorism, crime, or a variety of other safety hazards, you truly do have to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Last year I wrote about Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre when my father was taken there after a car accident. Fortunately, my fathers visit only involved a short stay in the emergency room. In more recent times, my aunt fell and broke her hip and was transported to Sunnybrook by ambulance. Unfortunately, this was not a three or four hour visit but ended up involving surgery and a stay as an inpatient.

During this time, I saw firsthand how Sunnybrook’s outstanding service and commitment to health care extends far beyond the emergency room. Whether it be the Emergency Room nurses, the orthopaedic surgeon, the ward administrator, ward nurses, dietitians, and a host of other staff, Sunnybrook takes it upon themselves to ensure extra special attention and care is taken for elderly patients. The staff went above and beyond accommodating special requests such as finding my aunt food that would meet her needs, answering my numerous questions and taking the time to provide me with updates so that the family would feel as comfortable as possible.

Perhaps the most surprising sign, of how in tune Sunnybrook employees are with the needs of the people who come through their doors, can be exemplified by my interaction with the security guard working in the emergency room. While most security guards would have just sat there being seen and not heard, this gentleman said, “I hope your day gets better,” as I was leaving. His comment clearly showed compassion when dealing with people and it demonstrated that he understood if somebody was in the ER, they were probably not having a great day.

In a time when health care professionals consistently blame a lack of government funding for an inability to do their jobs, I never once heard such comments or got that feeling from any of the employees working at Sunnybrook.

The only thing that could have made my experience better would be better parking rates and longer business hours at the Tim Hortons in the hospital!

A few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, I was visiting an old friend who lives in Cobourg, Ontario. He chose to take me to a popular local restaurant called The Buttermilk Café for lunch.

When we were parking the car, he said he was recommending this establishment because the food was really tasty and the restaurant is known for providing excellent customer service. In particular, he told us about a time when he had a problem with his meal and how the restaurant bent over backwards to make it right and apologize for the inconvenience. To this day, he has not forgotten what they did for him, so as an aside, it just goes to show how service recovery can lead to loyal and long-lasting customers.

Within a couple of minutes of being seated, the server took our order and quickly brought us our drinks. Before we knew it, our main courses arrived and it was at that time when I realized I made a mistake on my order. I ordered an omelette thinking that it included red peppers, when in fact, it came with green peppers….which I can’t eat.

Just as we were beginning lunch , the server came back to check on our table and see how our meals were (table checks are another sign of a good restaurant!) and she noticed I wasn’t eating my food. She asked me if everything was all right and despite me insisting that the mistake was mine, she immediately scooped up the plate and said she would have it remade without green peppers. I told her it was unnecessary, since it was my own fault, but she insisted on remaking the omelette as “The Buttermilk Café wants all of their customers to be happy and satisfied”.

At this moment, I realized The Buttermilk Café clearly cares about their customers. Where most servers would have just been sympathetic and said sorry or something along those lines, this establishment wasn’t satisfied until the customer was.

The new omelette was just as terrific as the service, arriving hot and fresh.

Between the great home cooked food and a clear commitment to customer service and satisfaction, if you ever get out to Cobourg, you won’t go wrong dining at the Buttermilk Café.

At the end of my vacation, my daughter and I ended up stranded in Orlando, when our flight was cancelled, due to poor weather conditions.

With my rescheduled flight not leaving until the next evening, myself, along with thousands of other stranded travellers began looking for hotel rooms.

Although we were initially directed to a 1-800 number, that involved a long on-hold time, one of the airline employees recognized my increased stress level given the late hour of the day and my young daughter being on the verge of tears. The employee quietly suggested a few specific hotels that took good care of stranded passengers, and as a result, I called the Homewood Suites.

I immediately called the hotel and was surprised at how quickly they answered the phone. Despite it being after two in the morning, the employee was friendly, helpful, and provided me with a very reasonable stranded travelers hotel rate.

Once we confirmed the reservation, the employee asked me if I needed a lift to the hotel and sent a shuttle to pick us up. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, I was greeted by name and checked in within two minutes. The gentleman working was able to anticipate our needs before we even had to ask. He then offered to store our bags at the front desk while we ran out to grab a quick bite, and he let us know he added a late checkout to our account so we could sleep in the next morning.

The next day I had an equally enjoyable experience with the other staff members who were friendly, helpful and extremely accommodating. My daughter and I also had time to walk around the grounds. The facility is beautiful with big and modern spacious rooms, a large, bright lobby area, and complimentary breakfasts, afternoon snacks and dinner (including some wines and beers).

I can certainly see why many travelers make it their first choice. While I can’t speak for other hotels in the chain, this location definitely puts the home in Homewood Suites.